


Vignettes on the Life of Kiyoshi Aomori

by Chellendora



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Drama, Ficlets, Gen, History, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-11-30
Updated: 2010-11-30
Packaged: 2017-12-31 22:14:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1036968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chellendora/pseuds/Chellendora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kiyoshi Aomori--the boy rejected by his family because he was different. Now 27-years-old, he works for the Ruin Mercenaries. The skills that were forced upon him at an early age are all he knows.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Age ~1 day

**Author's Note:**

> I'm addicted to these now. I want to write them for all of my characters! MWUAHA! Anyway, same deal. They'll be listed chronologically even if they're not written so. --- This vignette is to show why Kiyoshi has a Japanese name when he most definitely is not Japanese. That is because Japanese styled names in Celestia (they're not known as 'Japanese' there of course) are almost always associated with criminals.

“I don’t want to give my child such a name!” the woman said forcefully, though quietly so that she wouldn’t disturb the babe in her arms. A tuft of black hair combined with an electric blue under-layer showed from the top of the blanket bundle.

“He does not look anything like an Aomori!” the woman’s husband exclaimed. “Can’t you hear what the other nobles will say?”

“Who cares? He’s our child! As long as we know that…”

“Enough of this, Elisenda! The boy’s name will be Kiyoshi so that all will know he’s not welcomed in this family!”

“But that type of name is associated with criminals!” Elisenda cried, her eyes welling up with tears.

“Enough!” Kiral barked, slicing his hand through the air in a motion that said he was cutting their conversation off. He glared strongly at his wife before turning and leaving the room.

Elisenda clenched her eyes shut, willing herself not to cry. She hugged the baby boy to her protectively. “In my heart, you will always belong, my son.”

* * *


	2. Age ~15: Young Love

Kiyoshi sat on a boulder about fifty yards from the camp. He was close enough to hear Cosmius if he yelled for him, but far enough away that he could have some privacy. Whenever they had to camp away from the castle he took advantage of it. At that old, run down castle he was constantly being watched by the other Black Ribbon Gang members. Here there was only Cosmius and Roberto. There was Marpessa too, but she was a prisoner just like he was. 

He heard the leaves crunching behind him, but he didn’t turn around and become defensive. The person approaching him was intentionally making too much noise.

Marpessa sat next to him on the boulder, close enough that he could feel her body heat in the chilly night air.

“What’re you doing sitting all alone, Kiyoshi?” she asked, giving him a slight smile. Despite their situation, she always managed to smile. Sometimes, she even seemed to be happy with Roberto. Maybe he was different from Cosmius, but Kiyoshi definitely was not happy in the least.

“It’s better than keeping the company that we have,” he said, glancing over his shoulder. He could see the silhouettes of Cosmius and Roberto by the fire.

Marpessa turned to look up at the sky. There wasn’t much to see tonight; dark clouds were blocking the moon and stars from view. Her black hair almost disappeared into the night; if it wasn’t for the under layer of blonde it would have. She was really pretty, with pale skin and crystal blue eyes. She had been his friend since he came to the Gang, since she had been there longer than him.

Sometimes he wondered and worried if she actually liked being a part of the Gang. But that was a thought for another night. For now, he would enjoy watching the dark clouds roll across the night sky, with her by his side.

* * *


	3. Age ~27: Love

_It seems I’ve fallen in love with the thing I was taught to hate,_ Kiyoshi thought as he watched Shane by the seashore. She had her jeans rolled up to her knees, and her shoes were abandoned on the sand. Her small, white feline companion sat on a rock, peering down into the water. He wanted the fish that were nipping at Shane’s toes.

He smiled bitterly. Perhaps his thought wasn’t quite true. The Leaders of the Black Ribbon Gang had _tried_ to teach him to hate vampires. But he had seen so many so-called “abominations” slain when they were innocent. And while Shane wouldn’t be given an award for being the epitome of goodness, she wasn’t an evil entity that should be destroyed either.

Kiyoshi was jerked from his thoughts when he heard Shane give a cry of alarm. He looked up and watched as Yui rushed up the shore towards the trees, a brightly colored fish wiggling in his jaws.

“Don’t kill it, Yui!” Shane cried as she ran after the little cat. “It’s pretty!”

Kiyoshi laughed softly as Shane raced past him.

No, definitely not an entity of evil.

* * *


	4. Age ~27: Is that a tattoo?

Kiyoshi was unsure how many times people had asked him about the brand on his arm. He could be sitting at the bar, his elbows on the counter as he stared into his drink. From there, it was easy to see the characters cut into his inner left arm. AP1366. 

_Does that stand for something?_

_Is it initials and a birthdate?_

_Oh cool, you have a tattoo?_

_What, were you in a gang, or somethin’?_

_Were you in prison?_

That was the closest. Prison. It certainly had felt that way. He soon began to forget what he told people. Normally he would just ignore them, and they would move on after a moment, or pretend to not have said anything to begin with. But when he began to work in a bar he had to stop being rude, and soon began to just agree with whatever they asked.

Different rumors circulated, but no one knew what it really meant. He hadn’t wanted to tell anyone.

Dice had figured it out. He wasn’t stupid; he had seen those marks before. 

But still, there was no one he had _wanted_ to tell. No one he felt compelled to tell, just because he wanted them to know.

That was until he met her. But could he honestly tell her the truth?

“Hey, Shane. I used to belong to an organization that was dedicated to wiping out your kind. Are you okay with that?”

Yeah, right.

* * *


End file.
